ARTIST'S
STATEMENT 
I
create ceramic works that awaken trace memories of childhood
experiences I had growing up in the rural Midwest. My
father's side of the family has for generations been
involved with carpentry, mechanics and farming. When
I was growing up, the norm was to make what you needed
whenever possible. This was true of everything from
the house we lived in, to the cars we drove. I have
wonderful memories of visits to my grandfather's farm
in Grand Marais, Minnesota. In the barn, the horse harnesses
were still hanging where they were left after the first
tractor was brought in, and that first tractor was rusting
on its metal wheels out back. There were endlessly fascinating
ruins to be explored. Rusted license plates and wire,
radiator cans and the hubcaps off a '36 Ford have, for
me, the strength to evoke the smells, sounds and tastes
of my own places of becoming. These are places that
could spin yarns about first cars, first times and how
treasures become broken. I believe that sharing with
others the things that have made us who we are enlarges
our understanding of what it can mean to be human. I
am interested in working with imagery and processes
that are true to both my nature and nurture.
Steve
Hansen detailed statement
